“The Liberals won only a strong minority of seats in the House of Commons in the October 21 election,” the Globe and Mail reports. “That means Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will require the co-operation of other parties to pass legislation, and that the Liberals will no longer have a majority of seats on parliamentary committees. Both factors mean that opposition parties will have more influence than usual to change legislation.”
Category Archives: General
‘Step Backwards’ on Carbon Rules Saves Alberta’s Big Emitters $330 Million Per Year – The Energy Mix
The rules cover tar sands/oil sands, natural gas, chemical, and fertilizer operations that account for 55 to 60% of the province’s emissions, CBC reports.
The new Technology, Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) system unveiled Tuesday has no effect on the federal government’s consumer carbon tax, which Alberta is still trying to fight in court but takes effect January 1. Environment Minister Jason Nixon said the new plan would cut the province’s emissions by about 32 megatonnes, compared to 50 megatonnes under a plan developed by the province’s previous NDP government that included a consumer tax.
New technique could help decontaminate oilsands waste water
The method also helps speed up a process that would otherwise take decades for nature to complete, explained Mohamed Gamal El-Din, a professor who specializes in waste water remediation and led the new study.
“Instead of this process taking 10 to 20 years to occur naturally,
ozonating the contaminated water breaks down the organic compounds,
within minutes, into a source of energy and food for the bacteria
present in the biofilter,” Gamal El-Din said.
Mi’kmaq grandmothers want unceded land recognition from Nova Scotia Supreme Court
Three Mi’kmaq grandmothers are trying to move the dial forward when
it comes to the way the justice system interacts with Indigenous
peoples.
it comes to the way the justice system interacts with Indigenous
peoples.
On Monday, the trio pushed for recognition in Nova Scotia’s Supreme
Court that the province rests on unceded Mi’kmaw territory before
proceedings in their case continue — a recognition that did not verbally
take place in the courtroom at the time.
Kuku’wis Wowkis, Kiju
Muin and Thunderbird Swooping Down Woman are accused of violating a
court-ordered injunction against trespassing on land owned by Alton Gas
in Fort Ellis, N.S., during protests over the natural gas storage
project the company wants to build there
Budget low lights – how Jason Kenney’s budget hurts everyone
During the Alberta provincial election this spring, Jason Kenney
promised to ‘maintain or increase’ public services. His first budget
breaks that promise.
promised to ‘maintain or increase’ public services. His first budget
breaks that promise.
Here are some of the details.
Education
- Base instruction funding for grades 1-3 students in metro/urban areas is cut from $8,201 to $6,883, a 16% cut.
- Funding for increased enrollment will continue this year but be stopped after that.
- Funding for Educational Assistants (who provide help to kids with special needs) has been cut.
- Class size reduction funding has been cut.
- The programs to keep school fees low have been cut.